'Creation bless you. May ruin follow in your steps.'
Her words echoed within my skull, seeming to pierce the very core of my soul.
'This is not your battle, young one. You are needed in your own time. Since you are fated with my people, your answers lie within our citadel. Take the other human with you and go.'
My soul felt as though it were on the verge of collapse just from hearing her voice. As she turned to face the darkness, a cacophony of wails and roars rose from its depths. Creatures straight from the most vile and grotesque nightmares began to claw their way out.
I was shocked. I had never seen, heard, or even read about such monstrosities in my life. No record of their existence had ever been made, yet something about them felt familiar. They emitted a dark, pungent aura, the very air around them turning stale.
I soon recognized where I had felt that vile energy before.
'The Serpent.'
These abhorrent beasts were its ilk—abominations spawned from the depths of this infernal darkness. Before I could speak or warn the woman, she turned to face the horde. Her body erupted with a brilliant light that cleansed the world of the growing infection.
'Go now, child. Find the answers you seek. And please… protect my heir.'
Her voice, once filled with authority and power, broke into the solemn plea of a mother.
As I began to respond, a violent suction force pulled at my soul. Just as I was torn away, I glimpsed multiple humanoid silhouettes standing behind the horde. They carried the same dark aura, but theirs was… restrained.
Before I could see their faces, the woman's light exploded in its full glory. An earth-shattering roar shook the very heavens as my vision darkened once more.
When I opened my eyes, I lay on a deserted battlefield. A bloody haze replaced the early fog as I rose to my feet. The ground was littered with lonely, broken weapons—each one filled with the last vestiges of the mighty warriors who had wielded them to the end.
Rivers of blood flowed freely across the field, boiling under the heat of war. Yet not a single body remained. The battlefield was empty save for the abandoned weapons.
As I stood among them, a strange familiarity washed over me—a sense of déjà vu that screamed at me. Before I could explore it, my body was whisked away toward a distant city.
As I flew above it, I noticed the same eerie emptiness.
No blood.
No corpses.
Just vast emptiness.
I landed inside the citadel, and my body sank through the floor, shuttled deeper into the world's crust. Eventually, I settled in a wide chamber lit by silver flames.
At its center stood an altar. Resting atop it was an egg that pulsed with an energy so intense the space around it fractured.
A chaotic mass of qi—and something else—swirled around it.
As I approached, dread washed over me… but also pride. The emotions churned inside my chest like a vortex. I couldn't understand them.
But I knew one thing:
This egg was important to me. More important than anything I had ever found or studied.
Though my life had not been long, something deep within my soul urged me to embrace it.
To protect it.
Before I could move, a flicker of motion caught my eye. A figure emerged from the shadows.
Its face was obscured by a strange veil I could not peer through, but the sharp, gray serpentine eyes revealed its identity—a world serpent clan member.
And not an ordinary one.
"Who are you? What is this place?"
The figure walked past me as if I were invisible—which, in hindsight, I probably was. When it reached the altar, it stopped and slowly turned toward me.
Despite my soul form, I could tell it saw me clearly—just like the woman before.
Swallowing my discomfort and growing frustration, I met its gaze. After a long silence, it finally spoke.
"It is not yet time."
I froze, not expecting a response.
"...Then when will it be?"
The figure closed its eyes and sat before the egg, motionless. As my frustration reached its peak, it spoke again.
"When you sit at the precipice of life and death. Until then, hold your questions, ape."
A vein bulged on my forehead as I forced myself to breathe.
"So what now?"
The figure opened its eyes.
"Now? Now you go back. Resolve yourself. And gain the answers you seek."
With a dismissive wave, my soul was torn through the void, and I awoke vomiting blood into Kaelira's arms.
(Secluded Chamber: Eons Ago)
After Vairon was sent back to his own time, the figure returned to silence.
The veil of energy covering its face shimmered before fading entirely, revealing a middle-aged man. Faint traces of age etched the corners of his eyes. Though his gaze carried deep sadness and helplessness, it also shone with renewed vitality.
"So they are the chosen, eh? Not bad… not bad at all. For apes."
Remembering the woman who had appeared earlier, a flicker of admiration flashed in his eyes.
"That lass stood before one of the @#^^$ without succumbing to madness. Young prince… perhaps there is hope for existence after all."
He let out a heavy sigh, recalling the sacrifices his people had made to reach this moment. His heart weighed with the burden of thousands of fallen brethren.
"The rest is up to their fate. If they can gain the palace's acknowledgement, then…"
-------------------------------------------------------
"...and that about sums it up."
Kaelira fell silent. Her mind raced with the revelations Vairon had shared.
The primordial serpent clan.
The woman in the white armor.
The creatures of the darkness.
And the egg—her child—sealed in the chamber.
Her heart tightened with anxiety. Was her child safe? Was that mysterious figure truly guarding it?
"The egg… did you feel anything strange about it?" she asked quietly.
Vairon turned his head slightly, then looked forward again.
"Yes. It was… strange. As if it was calling out to me."
Kaelira trembled with hidden excitement.
'He felt it too. Does that mean he's connected to it?'
"And? Did you feel anything else?"
Her tone unsettled him. He fell silent before asking:
"That egg… was that the child you mentioned earlier?"
Kaelira fell silent. Her thoughts grew heavy as she was torn about how to explain herself and the strange, motherly connection she felt toward the egg. As she struggled to articulate her thoughts, Vairon cut through her turmoil.
"It doesn't matter. If it's important to you, we'll retrieve it. You have my word."
Kaelira's eyes welled with tears. The care and trust he offered warmed her in ways she had never known. She lowered her head into the crook of his neck and nodded.
A faint smile touched Vairon's face—before fading as the ruins before them came into view.
A towering citadel stood in silence, its ruined structure the only sign of destruction in the frozen city.
Setting Kaelira down, the two stood shoulder-to-shoulder.
"Let's go get your pet. I think he's waited long enough."
"He is NOT a pet. He is my child."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, crazy lady."
"VAI—!"
Before another argument could erupt, an unholy shout tore through the dead city behind them.
"AETHERIONNNNN!!"